Apparatus for rolling an open edge of a thin flexible article



C. L. DUFF July 10, 1956 APPARATUS FOR AN OPEN EDGE OF A THIN FLEXIBLEARTICLE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 2, 1953 I DUFF,

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APPARATUS FOR AN OPEN EDGE OF A THIN FLEXIBLE ARTICLE Filed Jan. 2, 19535 Sheets-Sheet 2 8 1 Wm r133 19 1/8 I 11s 12/ JzT/Eniea Cbeeiee .L'DUFF,deceased .QyzEeuZeiz ZYYflUFF; mfzzisieekzx El /AM if;

July 10, 1956 c. L. DUFF 2,753,593

APPARATUS FOR AN OPEN EDGE OF A THIN FLEXIBLE ARTICLE Filed Jan. 2, 19535 Sheets-Sheet 3 I .JzzzJeTfioa 5 Cheeiee L-DUFF, deceased C. L. DUFFJuly 10, 1956 APPARATUS FOR AN OPEN EDGE OF A THIN FLEXIBLE ARTICLE 5Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan. 2, 1953 JHLEHFUE. [b55155 LUUF'F, d5 ceased@Eeuial'z Zfiflumqfidminfsifiakix EMWM/ W2 July 10, 1956 c. L. DUFFAPPARATUS FOR AN OPEN EDGE OF A THIN FLEXIBLE ARTICLE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5Filed Jan. 2, 1953 L s u n w y mwflm 5 @khfi QV\ E \Q n) ELEM n I m m muwmfi E Illa wax g g g United States Patent APPARATUS FOR ROLLING AN OPENEDGE OF A THIN FLEXIBLE ARTICLE Charles L. Duff, deceased, late ofAkron, Ohio, by Beulah M. Duff, administratrix, Toledo, Ohio, assignorto The B. F. Goodrich Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of NewYork Application January 2, 1953, Serial No. 329,337

9 Claims. (Cl. 18-2) This invention relates to the manufacture of thin,flexible articles such as rubber gloves, balloons and the like. Moreespecially, the invention relates to the operation of rolling themarginal area or open end portion of a thin tubular rubber article intoa bead or ring which reinforces the end portion of the article. The edgeof a glove gauntlet or the edge of the neck of a balloon is usuallyrolled in this manner to prevent these articles from being torn easily.

Thin, hollow tubular rubber articles of this kind have been usually madeby dipping processes in which a form shaped like the desired article isimmersed in latex or other aqueous dispersion of rubbery material. Therubbery material is caused to coagulate or is otherwise deposited on theform to provide a thin skin or coating of rubbery material on the form.After the rubbery deposit has dried somewhat the marginal area of thedeposit is rolled back upon itself away from the form into a tight beadthereby making a thick, continuous reinforcing ring around the open endof the article. Thereafter, the rubbery deposit is vulcanized and thefinished article is stripped from its form.

The ring rolling operation has been an important but very difficult stepin making these articles. Apparatus heretofore proposed for ring rollinghas been best suited for use with forms having a relatively simple,uniform shape such as the cylindrical forms for making prophylactics.Also this prior art equipment has been ordinarily adapted for productionsystems in which the forms are moved in single file through the severalprocessing stations. For forms having complex shapes such as glove formsof elliptical cross section, this equipment has not been satisfactoryand neither can it be used conveniently in production systems in whichthe forms are mounted quite close to each other on pallets. Prior to thepresent invention reinforcing rings on the open ends of gloves made onpallet-supported forms, for example, have been rolled tediously by hand.According to this invention the rolling is accomplished automatically.The invention includes novel apparatus and methods which are suitablefor rolling rings on articles made on forms of either complex or simpleshapes and which are particularly advantageous for use in systems wherethe forms are mounted on pallets.

Objects of this invention are to provide for rolling an open end of atubular article more rapidly and efficiently than has been possibleheretofore, and to provide for roll ing a plurality of articlessimultaneously. Other objects are to provide novel roll-forming meansfor contacting the marginal end area of the article and for etfectingrelative movement between this means and the form to roll the marginalarea back upon itself. Further objects are to minimize the possibilityof damaging the article as it is being rolled and to provide forremoving the forms from the equipment if an accident should occur duringits operation.

These and other objects will be more fully apparent from the following.description and the accompanying drawings.

ICC

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of apparatus constructed according to andembodying the principles of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a View taken on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a view showing details of the structure of one spindle and aportion of its associated mechanism for operating it, the view beingdrawn on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 5 is a view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4 looking upwardtoward the bottom side of a portion of the spindle mechanism;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the front corners of a palletused in carrying the forms through the apparatus;

Fig. 7 is a detail view drawn on an enlarged scale and taken along theline 7-7 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 8 is a schematic view of control equipment for operating theapparatus. I

The apparatus shown in the drawings is advantageously employed as thering rolling station of a continuous production system for making rubbergloves. In addition to this ring rolling apparatus, the system willinclude various dipping stations, drying units, vulcanizing ovens andthe like which are not illustrated. The gloves are made on glove forms10, a number of which are mounted on each of the rectangular-shapedpallets 11. The pallets are moved through the various processingstations on' The conveyor mechanism The conveyor 12 is formed with astructural steel supporting frame 14 and is a roller-type conveyor.Along each side of the top of the conveyor there is a row of short,horizontal, parallel rolls 15 (see Fig. 2) which support the sides ofthe pallets 11 and which rotate as the pallets are moved over them alongthe conveyor. Each roll 15 is mounted on a shaft 16 and the end of eachshaft 16 toward the inside of the conveyor is journaled in a horizontalmember 17 which extends the full length of the conveyor. The outside endof each shaft 16 is journaled in a horizontal side member 18 which alsoextends the full length of the conveyor. These members 18 each havealong their upper edges, portions 19 which project above the rows ofrolls 15 and which mutually cooperate to form a guideway forconfining'the pallets the pallets are moved along the conveyor.

The pallets are delivered to the left end of the con veyor 12 as isshown in Fig. l and the group of rolls 1511 close to the left orpallet-receiving end of the conveyor are driven to pull the pallets ontothe conveyor and start them moving along it. To drive the rolls 15a, theshaft 16 of each of these rolls 15a has a portion which projects beyondits journal in its side member 18 and which is fitted with two sprockets20, 20 (Fig. 2). The sprockets 20, 20 of each roll 15a are connected byone chain 21 to one of the sprockets 20 of the roll 15a in front of itand by another chain 21 to one of the sprockets of the roll 15a behindit so that all the rolls 15a are connected together in a train and maybe rotated positively and simul to a transmission unit 24 operated by amotor 25 mounted on the frame 14 at the lower left corner of theconveyor.

At the extreme left end of the conveyor (Fig. 1) there Patented July 10,1956 is a group of rolls b which are also provided with sprockets 20..2.0 on their respective roll shafts. and. which are connected togetherwith chains in the same manner as the group of rolls 15a. For reasonswhich will appear in connection with the operation of the apparatusthese rolls lSb are separately" driven by a chain 28 from anothersprocket on the transmission unit 24.

The rolls 15c toward the right end of the conveyor are not positivelydriven but are just idler rolls over the tops of which the pallets aremoved as the pallets are leaving the conveyor.

After a pallet 11 has been received on the left end of the conveyor bythe driven rolls 15a and 15b, its further movement along the conveyor iscontrolled by a chain 30, the upper reach of which extends along thelongitudi-nal; center of the conveyor between the two rows of rolls 15-as shown in Fig. 2. The chain Stiis supported at the left end of theconveyor by a sprocket 31 and at the right end of the conveyor by' asprocket 32. Chain is driven around these sprockets so that the upperreach of the chain moves toward the right end of the conveyor by a chain33 engaged with a sprocket 34 (see Fig. 3). mounted on a shaft 35 whichalso supports sprocket 32. Chain 33 is driven by a transmission unit 37operated by amotor 38 mounted in the lower right hand corneror the frame14.

The chain 30 is provided with a number of sets of pushers 40 spacedapart a distance equal to the length of the pallet. Adjacent sets ofpushers 40 are adapted to engage the front and rear ends of apallet inthe manner indicated in Fig, 1 to haul the pallets along the conveyorover the rolls 15 as the chain 30- is driven around its sprockets 31 and32. The pushers 40 engage a pallet after it has been moved by the rolls15a to a position a short distance beyond the sprocket 31 and thepushers are automatically disengaged from the pallets when the pallet ismoved over the sprocket 32 in leaving the conveyor. Each set of pushersis a pair of short lengths of angle iron 40a and 40b. One leg ofeachangle is fastened to the chain pointing. towardthe other angle of itspair. The other leg of each angle extends vertically upward from thechain. The vertical leg of angle 40a in each set of pushers is adaptedto engage the front of a pallet as, shown in Fig. 1 and the vertical legof angle 4% in the next adjoining set of pushers is adapted to embracethe rear of the pallet. Because of the pushers there cannot be anyslippage or appreciable relative movement between the chain 30 and thepallets and. therefore the position of the pallets on the conveyor canbe controlled precisely and accurately by the chain 30.

Fig, 6 shows a perspective view of one corner of a pallet 11 which maybe advantageously used in this apparatus. The pallet has a rectangularshape and includes a pair of spaced side rails. 42 which are connectedto gether by cross braces (not shown). Each rail 42 has an outwardlyprojecting flange 43 (see also Fig. 2) near the top of the rail which isadapted to ride against the inside surface. of the. adjacent member 18as the pallet isl'moyedf along the guid'eway formed by the members 18The bottom edge 44 of each rail 42 rides on the rolls L5. The side rails42 are also each provided: with an inwardly directed ledge 45 extendingalong the side surface of each rail to support the ends of flangedmembers 46 on which the forms 10 are mounted. The front and rear of thepallet are provided with removable cross members 47 which may be lockedinto the side rails 42. by a latch 48. at each end of the cross members41' to hold the form-supporting members. 46 in a position on the ledges45.. The front and rear cross members 47 and the form-supporting members46 are removable. from the side rails to facilitate disassembling thepallet; in case the apparatus should become jammed durng a in o ling, pr i Each of" the, flanged supporting members 46' supports a single-rowof forms 10 spaced laterally from each. other and arranged parallel tothe front and rear of the pallet. The spacing between. the forms isv thesame. on. each of the members 46 so that when a number of members 46 areassembled within the side rails 42 each form 10 will e in a group offorms aligned parallel to the sides of the pallet as well asbeingaligned with the other forms on its respective supporting member46. Hereinafter the term row with reference to a pallet will designate agroup of forms aligned parallel to the front of the pallet,

and the term. line will designate a group of forms. alignedparallcl tothe sides of the pallet.

As will appear from the discussion. of the apparatus following, theforms 10 need not be equally spaced on their respective members 46 solong as the unequal spacing is uniform in each row. Different sizedforms may be used in the same pallet if desired. Usually the forms willbe of uniform size and equally spaced in each pallet, however. The formsare preferably made of a molded ceramic material with a hard, glazed,non-porous surface.

T he ring-forming mechanism By the time a pallet is delivered to theconveyor 12 its glove forms will have bee-n dipped and the rubberydepositonthe forms will be dried sufiicien-tly that a mar ginal area 50(Fig. 1) of the rubber on each form. close to the base of the form iscapable of being rolled into a ring 51. The rolling operation iseffected by the bridge mechanism 1 3- located substantially intermediatethe ends of the conveyor.

A pallet is moved under the bridge mechanism 13 by the chain 30' tobring the first row of forms on the pallet into position to be rolled.The bridge mechanism then operates to roll every form in the firstrowsimultaneously; Then the chain 30 indexes the pallet to bring thesecond row of forms into position under the bridge and then these formsare rolled simultaneously, etc, the chain 30 operating; intermittentlyto advance the pallet tothe nextsucceeding row of forms as soon as thenext precedingrow is rolled. Ordinarily there will be eight forms ineach row and eight or ten rows of forms on each pallet although thepallets may be provided with any number of forms. The pallet 11 shown inFig. lis under the bridge mechanism 13 in position for having itsfourthrow of forms rolled. The mechanism is shown in its position at thebeginning of a rolling operation.

The bridge mechanism 13 includes a plurality of spindles 54 which extenddownwardly from the lower surface ofa supporting table 55. The spindles54 are aligned with each other perpendicularly tothe conveyor 12. Asshown in Fig. 2 there is one spindle 54 for each form in a row. Detailsof the structure of the spindles are shown in Fig. 4.

Each spindle has a tubular exterior casing 56- which extends upwardlythrough the table 55 and which is journaled in the table by a bearing57. The top of the casing 56 projects slightly above the top of thetable 55' and is fastened in the bearing 57 by a collar 58. The casing56 houses a vertical spindle shaft 59 which extends through the wholelength of the casing. The lower end of the. vertical shaft 59 issupported in a bearing 60 at the bottom of the casing and has affixed toit a small bevel gear 61 which is meshed with another bevel gear 62 on ashort horizontalshaft 64 which protrudes from the bottom of the casing56 to support a horizontal roller )5. This roller is adapted to berotated about its horizontal' axis and it is driventhrough the bevelgears 61 and 62 by the vertical spindle shaft 59. The roller 65' isrotated in: contact with the marginal area 54) of the rubber deposit onthe form to roll the marginal area.

To drive the spindle shaft 59 its upper end above the top of the casinghas affixed to it a bevel gear 66 which is rotatable ona bushing 67 attheupper end of the casing and which is in mesh with a correspondingbevel gear 69 mounted on a horizontal drive shaft 70 extending along thetop of the table 55. Fig. 2 best shows the relative position of thedrive shaft "70 and the several bevel gears 69 thereon, each engagedwith its mating bevel gear 66 on the shaft 59 of the respective spindles54. The drive shaft 70 is journaled in bearings 71 adjacent each gear 69and is rotated by a motor 73 (Fig. 2) mounted 011 the top of the table55. Through the drive shaft 70 each of the spindle shafts 59 is rotatedsimultaneously and at the same speed thereby rotating the rollers 65against their respective forms at a uniform speed.

The table 55 is suspended above the conveyor by two cranks 75 and 76,each having a crank pin 77 (see Fig. 4) journaled in one end of thetable on a bearing 78. Each of the cranks is of equal length and theyare rotated at equal speeds so that they are always parallel to eachother except for the two positions (180 apart) where they are alignedwith each other. The driving end 75a and 76a of each crank is rigidlyfastened to a vertical drive shaft 80 (Fig. 2) which extends upwardlythrough a horizontal beam 81 into the bottom of a gear transmission unit83 mounted on top of the beam 81. The cranks are rotated by theirrespective shafts 80 through the gear transmissions 83 by a main driveshaft 84 which is mounted in bearings 85 on the top of the beam 81 anddriven by a motor 86 mounted on the beam 81. The rotation of the cranks75 and 76 imparts a rotary motion of translation to the table 55 in ahorizontal plane above the conveyor, the spindles 54 as well as everyother point on the table being translated in a circular path having aradius equal to the eifective length Y of the cranks.

At the beginning of a ring rolling operation the cranks 75 and '76 willbe pointing toward the left side of the conveyor as shown in Fig. 2 inaxial alignment with each other and supporting the table in its extremeleftward position. The particular row of forms to be rolled will bepositioned under the bridge so that the vertical axis of each formintersects the center line of the table 55. Each form will also belocated so that its vertical axis is spaced from its respective spindlea distance equal to the length of the cranks. (In Fig. 4, dimension X isequal to dimension Y.) Therefore as the cranks are rotated, the rotarymotion of the table is such that each spindle moves orbitally around itsrespective form in a circular path. At every position of the cranksduring the rolling operation, each spindle and the axis of itsrespective form will define a vertical plane which is parallel to thecranks. The intermittent movement of the chain 30 brings each row offorms on a pallet successively into this position relative to thespindles before the ring rolling operation is commenced for each row.

The direction of rotation of the cranks 75 and 76 is indicated by thearrows A in Figs. 2 and and is such that the spindle casing 56 leads theroller 65 around the form. Therefore the spindle casing 56 will berotated through 360 in its bearing 57 in the table 55 by the action ofthe roller 65 each time the spindle is revolved once around its form.

In order to urge the roller 65 against the form while the spindle isrevolved, a spring mechanism 90 is provided for each spindle. Details ofthis mechanism are shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Fig. 5 shows in full lines abottom view of the left end of the table 55 and the relative positionsof the portions of the spring mechanism for one of the spindles 54 whenthe table is in its starting or extreme leftward position of the cranks.The broken lines indicate the relative positions of these parts when thecranks have revolved the table through one quarter of a revolution.

The spring mechanism 90 of each spindle includes a coil spring 93 whichis stretched between the separated ends of two diverging bars 94 and 95.The bar 94 is securely fastened to the spindle casing and projectshorizontally outwardly from the spindle away from the form. The bar 95projects over the form and the end of the spring 93 is engaged with thebar 95 at a point 96 which is directly over and is intersected by theVertical axis of the form. To hold the bar in a rigid position relativeto the bar 94 the inner end of bar 95 is fastened to a gear 98 which isrotatably mounted on the spindle casing so that it may be rotatedindependently of the spindle. The gears 98 of the several spindles arespaced by and meshed with a series of idler gears 99 which are rotatablysupported on pins 100 on the bottom of the table. The outside idlergears 99a and 99b (Fig. 2), respectively at the ends of the table areeach meshed with a pinion 101 which is fixed securely to the crank pin77 of each crank 75 and 76. Thus when the table is at rest, the gears 98are immovable and the bar 95 is held rigidly over the form andrestrained against any pivotal movement relative to the spindle. Sinceeach spindle casing is pivotally mounted in the table on the bearing 57,the bar 94 may be swung away from the bar 95 to turn the spindle casingin its bearing 57 thereby stretching the spring 93. Normally the tensionin the spring 93 will pull on bar 95 to exert a turning move ment on thespindle casing 56 so that the roller 65 of the spindle is urged againstthe form.

When the cranks are rotated by their drive shafts 80 to revolve thetable through one revolution, the crank pins 77 and the pinions 101 willmake one revolution relative to the table. pinions 101, hence the gears98 will also each make one revolution around their respective spindlecasings so that each bar 95 will be swiveled around the axis of the formby the rotation of its gear 98. During the orbital translationalmovement of the spindle, the spindle casing will be rotating in thetable and the size of the pinions 101 and the gears 98 is such that thebar 95 will be swiveled around the spindle at the same angular velocityat which the spindle casing is rotated in the table. Thus the point 96of each bar '95 will remain exactly over the axis of the form at everyposition of the spindle in its orbital path around the form. Thereforethe tension in the spring 93 will be substantially uniform at everyposition of the spindle during a revolution and the spring 93 will pullthe bar 94 toward the bar 95 thereby urging the roller 65 against theform.

The idler gears 99 may be of any diameter to provide the desired spacingbetween adjacent spindles.

As has been pointed out in the foregoing, each spindle casing is free torotate in the table on its bearing 57 independently of the gears 98 andthe spring 93 always tends to urge the roller 65 against the form. Ifthe roller 65 encounters an irregularity in the surface of the form suchas a protrusion, the protrusion will force the roller away from the axisof the form; the spring 93 stretching and the casing 56 rotating in itstable hearing 57 to effect this movement of the roller. Similarly, ifthe irregularity is a depression in the surface of the form, the spring93 contracts to swing the roller 65 inwardly toward the axis of theform. This movement makes this apparatus particularly useful for formshaving elliptical-shaped cross sections such as the glove forms shown,although the apparatus works equally well for forms which areparticularly cylindrical about a central vertical axis.

Bar 94 is adjustably fastened around the spindle casing 56 by the screw103 so that the tension in the spring 93 may be varied to suit operatingconditions by locating the bar 94 at different angles relative to thespindle casing. The bar 94 and the bar 95 are also connected together bya cross bar 104 (see Fig. 5), one end of which is engaged with a smallknob 105 on arm 94. The other end of the cross bar 104 is slotted and isconnected to the bar 95 by bolt 106 so that when the arm 94 is adjustedto different angular positions on the spindle the cross bar 104 iscorrespondingly adjustable lengthwise by fastening the bolt 106 atdiiferent positions in the slot. The cross bar 104 prevents the arm 94from swinging more than a fixed amount toward the form.

The gears 98 are the same size as the In addition to the rotation of therollers 65 against their respective forms and the orbital revolution ofthe spindles about their respective forms, mechanism is provided to movethe. spindles vertically relative to the forms to effect the ringrolling of the rubber article on the form. This latter movement combinedwith the circular orbital movement of the spindles imparts a gyratingmotion to the rollers 65 relative to the forms so that each roller 65 ismoved in a helical path around its form along the edge of the article tobe rolled.

To obtain vertical movement of the spindles, the beam 81 across the topof the bridge from which the table 515 is suspended is provided at itsends with verticalguide pins 112, 1:12 which fit sl'idably into theupper ends of a pair of vertical columns 113, 113 between which theconveyor extends. The beam 81 is positioned between apair of horizontalstructural members 115, 115 (Fig. i)

which are fastened securely tothe tops of the columns 113, 113, bybrackets 116, 116. The members 115, 1115 support the beam 81 by a pairof cams 118, 118 at each. end of the beam. These cams are fixed to theends of a horizontal cam shaft 119 which extends laterally between themembers 118 through a gear transmission unit 120 mounted on each end ofthe beam and each cam is supported on a roller unit 121 on thehorizontal members 118. Each transmission unit 120 is driven from theadjacent transmission unit 83 by a short shaft 122'. When the cams 113are rotated. in their respective roll-er units 121' the beam is movablevertically between the members 115, 115 and the pins 112, 112 areslidabl'e into and out of the ends of the columns 113, 113 to guide themovement of the beam. The vertical distance through which the beam. ismoved is regulated by the contour of the, cams I213. The operation ofthe cams 118 thereby raises and lowers the table 55 at the same time thecranks '75v and T6 are rotating the table horizontally to move thespindles orbitally around the forms and while the rollers 65 arerotating against each form.

The roller 65 has several important features, both, from the standpointof its shape and the material from which it is made. Fig. 4 shows thatthe peripheral surface of the rollers is slightly crowned toward itscenter so that the surface of the roller makes a point contact with theform as distinguished from a line contact. The crowned roller has beenfound to be particularly suitable for elliptical or oval shaped forms asshown because of the relatively slight curvature on some of the sides ofthe form. It is also effectively used if the surface of ,the form, iscurved" in a longitudinal direction toward or away from the central axisof the form. If the form is cylindri'cal' shaped a cylindrical shapedroller is generally satisfactory.

Heretofore in ring-rolling equipment the rotatable member used tocontact the rubbery deposit tomake the roll has been made of felt,rubber, or other material having a soft, yielding surface. According tothis invention, however; the rotatable form contacting element (roller65) is made of a material having a hard, nonyielding' surface asdistinguished from materials suchas soft rubber; felt, or" brushbristles which present a yieldable surface to the article on the form.Rollers madeof hardmaple wood which have been cooked in oil togive theman oil-impregnated surface have beenused with outstanding success ascompared withrollers made from soft surfaced rubber or withbrushbristles. which have been used quite successfully have beenplastics; having a hard surface such as nylon, tetl'on, lucite, and thelike. Metallic rollers may be used but these tend to wear the forms toorapidly, and they become-very=h-otdue to; the high frictional heat"generated by them; It has been found that rollers havingyieldingsurfaces such as rubber, brushes, etc. have a tendency to adhereto themarginaledge of the rubbery deposit, on the form. Whenthis typevroller is. rotated" against the form the marginal edge of the rubberdeposit frequently wraps. up on the Other materials c roller and eitherthe Whole depositis torn off the form or the apparatus becomes jammed.This wrapping effect is substantially eliminated with the use of aroller having a hard, non-yielding surface.

In order to permit the rollers to be changed quickly and easily shouldthey become worn, each roller is rotatably mounted on an axial bushing123 which may be threaded onto the outer end of the shaft 64 as shown inFig. 4'. The thread 124 at the point where the roller is connected tothe shaft 64 is formed so that if the marginal edge should start to wraparound the roller, the continued rotation of the roller will cause thethread to unwind from the shaft 64. This prevents the apparatus frombecoming jammed.

Operation The operation of this machine and a preferred system forcontrolling it may be more clearly understood by referring to Fig. 8which shows in schematic form the location of the various elements ofthe control equipment. The motors, etc. which drive the several mechanismsare hydraulically operated from a hydraulic power unit indicatedat the upper right corner of Fig. 8.

Each pallet 11 carrying forms to be rolled is delivered to the left endof the conveyor from other processing stations and the incoming pal-letis first received on therol-ls- 15-11. As long as there is anotherpallet on the conveyor 12, the incoming pallet is prevented fromproceeding beyond the rolls 15b by a stop pin- 1 25 which projectsupwardly to engage the front of the pallet. The stoppin is an extensionof the piston rod 126' of a fluid pressure cylinder 123 mounted belowthe rolls 15-11 on the frame of the conveyor 12 and whichv is operatedby a solenoidvalve 139.

After all of the forms on a pallet on the conveyor ahead of the stoppinhave been rolled, that pallet will be carried oifeonveyor 12 by thechain 3t). As the rear of the departing pallet leaves the right end ofthe conveyor it trips a switch 132 which operates solenoid 13% toretract step pin 1:25. The incoming pallet is thereby rcleased andpermitted to move onto the rolls 15a.

The switch 132, in addition to operating solenoid valve also starts themotor 25 which drives the rolls 15a and'15b which move the incomingpallet toward the bridge mechanism 1-3. As the incoming pallet movesforward over the pin 125 the front of it trips a switch 136 to energizea solenoid valve 137 for starting motor 38 which drives the chain 30.The motor 38 drives the upper reach of chain 30 at aslower lineal speedthan the speed at which the pallet is moved forwardly by the rolls 151iand 15b. Alsothe pushers 40 on the chain 30 are spaced atpredeterminedintervals along the chain and are so located that one setof pushers on the upper reach of the chain- 39' will be about six orseven inches in front of theaxis of the sprocket 31 to receive the frontof the pall'etas it is moved forward by the rolls 15a and 15b. Thefaster speed of the rolls 15a urges the pallet against the slower movingpushers dtlunt-il the next succeedingset of pus-hers moves upwardlyaround sprocket 331 and engages the rear of the pallet. Thereafter thepallet is held between the two adjoining sets of pushers pallet movesaway from it to reactivate solenoid valve 1 36' to raise the stop pin125' to its original. position so that no other pallet can enter ontothe conveyor until the present incoming pallet has been removed. As soonas stop pin 125* israised another-pallet may move againstit onthe' rolls15b. The Weight of this pallet might interf'ere with. the speed of, therolls 15a carrying the incoming pallet, so therefore the two separatedrive chains 22 and 28 are provided for the rolls a and 15brespectively. Motors and 38 continue to run, however, after pin 125 israised. When the incoming pallet has been advanced sufficiently that therear of the pallet leaves switch 138, a solenoid valve 140 is operatedby switch 138 to stop motor 25, thereby stopping the rolls 15a and 15b.

If the pushers 48 fail to engage the pallet properly, then at least oneof the sets of pushers will be under the pallet and will raise thepallet away from the chain 30. To stop the apparatus automatically ifthis condition occurs, safety switches 142 are provided on the sidemembers 18 adjacent sprocket 31. These switches will be operated only ifthe pallet is tilted upwardly in its guideway. Jamming of the apparatusis therefore prevented.

When the pallet is properly engaged with the pushers it is carried bythe chain 30 toward the bridge mechanism 13. It may be seen in Fig. 6that one side rail 42 of the pallet is provided with a series of studs144 which project outwardly from the outside surface of the roll justbelow the flange 43. Each stud 144 is located exactly on the centerlineof its row of forms so that the distance be twen each stud correspondsaccurately to the distance between the rows of forms in the pallet.These studs are provided to operate switches 148 and 149 which arelocated on the side members 18, under the bridge mechanism, in the pathof the studs 144 and which control the indexing of the pallet to bringeach row of forms successively into position relative to the spindles54.

As the front of the pallet is moved under the bridge mechanism 13 thefirst stud 144 trips the switch 148 thereby closing a solenoid 151 inthe hydraulic return line 152 of motor 38. The operation of solenoid 151chokes off the hydraulic return line 152 and therefore stops the motor38 very promptly. It may be noted from Fig. 8 that the return line 152to solenoid valve 151 has another branch 154 ahead of the solenoid 151which leads through a valve 155 mounted on the frame of the conveyorunder sprocket 32. This valve is operated by a rotatable plate cam 158which is driven by the motor 38 through a series of sprockets and chainsfrom the shaft which supports sprocket 32 (see Fig. 3). The contour ofcam 158 operates the valve stem 159 of valve 155 to open and close thisvalve at desired intervals. The cam 158 is so located relative to thepushers 40 that at the time the pushers 48 at the front of the palletpass under the spindles 54, the cam 158 will close valve 155. Thus whensolenoid 151 is actuated to choke line 152, the line 154 is also blockedby valve 155 so that motor 38 stops very promptly after switch 148 isengaged by the first stud 144. There is a short time lag however betweenthe instant switch 148 is engaged and the pallet is stopped and in thisinterval the first row of forms on the pallet are brought into properalignment with the spindles 54 of the bridge mechanism. The chain willpull the pallet to urge the forms against their respective rollers 65 toswing the rollers into their proper starting position. The spring 93 isstretched somewhat and the spindle casings 56 are rotated in theirrespective bearings 57 by the presence of the forms against the rollers.

When the pallet is moved into alignment with the spindles, the stud 144strikes switch 148 and by the time the motor 38 is stopped, the stud 144is slightly beyond the switch 148 in position to operate a switch 149.This switch 149 operates a solenoid valve 161 in line 162 to thehydraulic motor 86 on the beam 81 of the bridge mechanism, which motor86 drives the cranks 75 and 76 to rotate the table 55 and drive the cams118 which raise and lower the table 55. Therefore the distance betweenswitches 148 and 149 should be any distance less than the distancebetween the studs 144 on the pallet. The motor 73 on the table 55 whichdrives the rollers 65 of the spindles is supplied by a line 164 andpreferably operates steadily so that the rollers 65 are continually 10rotating at all times. If desired this roller-driving motor 73 may bestarted and stopped through the switch 149 also.

The motor 86 drives the cam shafts 119 to rotate the cams 118 which movethe beam 81 and table 55 vertically. As soon as the cam shaft 119 startsto turn over it operates a switch 165 on the beam which sets up theproper circuit to the solenoid 161 to stop motor 86 at the end of theoperating cycle required for the spindles to roll one row of forms. inaddition, switch 165 closes the solenoid valve 137 in the supply line tomotor 38. Immediately the cranks 75 and 76 start to rotate to move thespindles orbitally around the forms, the rollers 65 each moving betweenthe forms adjacent it and bearing against its respective form. The formsin each row may be spaced relatively close together since the spindleswill take up very little space in moving between adjacent forms. Usuallythe spindles will be equally spaced on the table and the forms will becorrespondingly spaced. but as long as the spindle spacing mates withthe form spacing, the spacing between the spindles need not be. uniform.The forms may also be of dilferent sizes and shapes even in the samerow, because the action of the spring mechanism 93 of each spindle willautomatically compensate for the particular size and shape of each form.The pressure exerted on the forms by the spindles will also tend tocorrect any slight misalignments of the forms during the firstrevolution of the spindles around the forms.

Each hard-surfaced roller 65 rotates upwardly away rom its form as shownin Fig. 7. The horizontal rotary movement of the table 55 moves eachspindle so that the roller 65 advances along the edge of the marginalarea and the vertical movement of the beam causes the roller 65 to moveupwardly along the form.

During the ring rolling cycle of the apparatus for each row of forms,the table 55 preferably moves the spindles orbitally around theirrespective forms for eight complete revolutions. During the first fiveof the revolutions of the table, the cams 118 will be raising the beam81 so that the spindles and the rollers 65 are moved progressivelyupward on their respective forms to roll the rubber deposit. On thesixth revolution of the table the cams 118 dwell so that each roller 65rotates against the rolled edge it has made to press out any wrinkles orcreases in the roll. Then during the seventh and eighth revolutions ofthe table, the cams 118 lower the beam 81 so that the spindles and therollers 65 are returned to their original position close to the bottomof the forms. Each roller 65 is preferably driven at about from 250 R.P. M. to about 500 R. P. M. throughout the ring rolling cycle for eachrow. Preferably the cranks 75 and 76 will be rotated at not more thanabout 60 R. P. M.

Switch 165 times the period of the ring rolling cycle for each row offorms. After eight revolutions of the cam shaft 119, switch 165 is againoperated to actuate solenoid 161. This stops motor 86 on the. beam withthe table in its lowest position and with the cranks 75 and 76 in theiroriginal position pointing toward the left as shown in Fig. 2 so thatthe spindle casings 56 are clear of the front of the forms. Switch 165also energizes solenoid valve 137 which starts motor 38 so that thechain 30 again moves the pallet forward on the conveyor. Cam 158 is thenin position to maintain the valve open so that fluid from the motor maycirculate through the valve 155 from line 154.

The pallet will be advanced by the chain 30 until the stud 144 of thenext succeeding row of forms strikes switch 148 which thereuponinitiates the neXt operating cycle again. Cam 158 of valve 159 is shapedto make one revolution each time the pallet is advanced a distance equalto the spacing between two adjacent rows of forms on the pallet.Therefore when switch 148 is operated by the next stud 144, cam 158 willhave completed one revolution and will therefore close valve 155substantially simultaneously with the operation of switch 148 to againstop motor 38. In the time lag before the motor 38 is stopped a secondstud 144- proceeds on to strike switch 149 to start motor 86, etc., andthe events described in the foregoing when the first row of forms wasbrought into contact with the spindles will again recur in the samesequence.

This ring rolling cycle is repeated for each row of forms on the palletas fast as the next preceding row of forms has been rolled. When thepallet is indexed or moved forward by the chain 30 at the end of eachcycle, the forms are pulled against the rollers 65 and the spindles willswing aside against the resistance of the springs 93 to permit the formsto be moved between the spindles. As soon as the forms are clear of therollers 65, the tension in the springs 93 causes the rollers 65' to snapback to their normal position in contact with the forms in the nextsucceeding row. Each spindle successively rolls each form in itsrespective line of forms. The forms are spaced to permit this movementof the rollers.

After the last row of forms on the pallet has been rolled there will beno further studs 144 to operate switch 148, so that the chain 30 willthereafter run steadily and move the pallet on to the right end of theconveyor. As the chain 30 passes downwardly around sprocket 32 thepushers 4'0 will be automatically disengaged from the pallet and thepallet will be passed on to the adjoining conveyor equipment.

As the pallet leaves the conveyor it engages a switch 169 and switch132. These switches re-orient the circuits which include stop pin 125,etc. As the rear of the pallet releases switches 132, the stop pin 125is lowered to admit the next incoming pallet to the conveyor 12 asexplained in the foregoing. When the rear of the pallet releases switch169, appropriate circuits are completed to the solenoid valves 130, 137'and 151 so that the apparatus is ready to accept the incoming pallet.Switch 169 acts as a safety and will prevent the apparatus fromaccepting the next incoming. pallet if the departing pallet can not moveonto the next adjoining apparatus.

Thercquired electrical and hydraulic circuits to operate the variousvalves and switches will be evident from the foregoing and consequentlyare not shown in more detail. Other types of control and operatingmechanisms may be used.

Variations of the invention may be made within the scope of the appendedclaims.

I'claim:

1. In a ring-rolling apparatus for an article of'thin unvulcanizedrubber-like material disposed about the form, a roller having aperipheral portion formed of wood, the roller having a longitudinal axisof" rotation and a periph eral surface contour in the shape of a surfaceof revolution and being disposed with its axis transversely disposed tothe axis of'the form and said surface in contact with the form andwiththe edge of the article to be rolled.

2. Apparatus for forming a rolled edge on a thin flexible articledisposed about a form, the apparatus comprising a spindle, a rigidmember for supporting the spindle parallel to the axis of the form andat a fixed distance from said axis, the spindle being connected to saidmemher for rotation relative thereto about the longitudinal axis of thespindle, the spindle including a roller projecting from the spindle andtangentially contacting the form and being rotatable in contact with theform about an axis disposed transversely to the axis of the form, acrank having a fixed pivot eccentric to the axis of the form and a crankpin rotatably engaged with said rigid member and a crank arm betweensaid. pivot and said crank pin equal in length to the distance betweensaid spindle and the axis of the form, means for rotatingthe crankaround said pivot to move said rigid. member in a circular path normalto said axis or" the form whereby the spindle is revolved orbitallyaround the form andmeans for maintaining said roller in continuouscontact with said form duringsaid orbi'tal movement of saidspindle.

1,2 3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in combination with meansfor moving said rigid member translationally in a directionperpendicular to said circular path simultaneously with saidtranslational movement in a circnlar path.

4. Apparatus for forming a rolled edge on a thin flexible articledisposed about a form, the apparatus comprising a spindle disposed inlaterally spaced relation to the axis of the form, the spindle includinga roller rotatably contacting the form adjacent the edge of the articlethereon, a spindle-supporting member to which the spindle is connectedfor rotation about its longitudinal axis, meansfor moving the rigidmember in a circular path to revolve the spindle orbitally around theaxis of the form, and a spring mechanism for maintaining said roller inengagement with the form during said orbital movement of the spindle,the mechanism including a pair of bars diverging from each other andprojecting outward from said spindle, one of said bars being securedrigidly to said spindle and rotatable with the spindle relative to saidrigid memher, the second of said bars being rotatably mounted about saidspindle and rotatably connected to said rigidmem-ber, a point on saidsecond bar being perpendicularly intersected by said axis of the form,and a spring stretched between said point of the second bar and aportion of the first saidbar remote from the spindle, and means operablewhen the spindle is revolved orbitally to rotate the second bar relativetothe rigid member at the same angular velocity atwhich the spindle isrotated relative to said rigid member whereby said point on the secondbar is maintained at all times in fixed intersecting relation with saidaxis of the'form.

5. Apparatus for forming a rolled open end on a thin, flexible tubulararticle supported on a form, the apparatus comprising a spindle whichincludes a roller for contacting an end portion of the article on theform to be rolled; a member for supporting the spindle in spacedrelation to the axis of the form, the spindle being connected to saidmember for rotation relative thereto about the longitudinal axis of thespindle; a crank for moving saidmember in a plane circular path torevolve the spindle orbitally around the axis of the form with saidroller in contact with the form; and spring mechanism for maintainingsaid roller in contact with the formas the spindie is revolved, thespring mechanism including a first bar afiixed to the spindle andextending outwardly therefrom away from the form, a gear rotatablymounted on said spindle, a second bar afiixed to the gear and extendingoutwardly therefrom and having a point remote from the gear intersectedperpendicularly by the longitudinal axis of said form, a' spring engagedwith the first bar and connected to the second bar at the point wherethe axis of the form intersects the bar, a pinion affixed to said crankand rotatable relative to said spindle-supporting member when the crankis operated, gearing meshing said pinion with said gear to restrain thesecond bar against fi'ee pivotal movement on the spindle and to swingthe second bar p'ivotally about the spindle at the same an-' gularvelocity at which the spindle is rotated relative tothe spindlesupporting member as the spindle is revolved, whereby the pointat whichthe spring is connected to'the second bar remains fixed over the axis ofthe form at every position of'the spindle in its orbital path around theform.

6. Apparatus for rolling the open end of a thin, flexibie tubulararticle, the apparatus comprising a formfor supporting. the portion ofthe end of the article to be rolled, a spindle which includes a rollerhaving a peripheral surface contacting the form and the end of thearticle to be rolled on. the form, means for rotating said roller, atable for supporting the spindle and to \t hi'ch table the spindleisconnected for rotation on an axis longitudinally through the spindle,a crank for supporting the table and for moving. the table to revolvethe spindle orbitally aroundv the form with the roller thereof incontact with the form, spring means for urging the roller of the spindleagainst the form, a beam for supporting the crank, a frame in which thebeam is slidably mounted, and means engaging the beam and operablesynchronously with the movement of the crank to move the beam relativeto the frame toward and away from the form.

7. Apparatus for forming a rolled edge on a thin generally tubulararticle of rubber-like material, comprising a generally tubular articleform supported at one end by the apparatus, a spindle having its axisparallel to but laterally displaced from the axis of said form, a rollerrotatably supported by said spindle and projecting therefromtangentially across the form axis tangent to the form, means for movingsaid spindle in a circular path about said form axis, means formaintaining said roller in tangential contact with said form and withthe edge of the article being rolled during motion of said spindlearound the form axis, and means for rotating said roller while theroller engages the form and article during the motion of said spindleabout the form, the peripheral form-engaging portion of said rollerbeing formed of a hard, non-yielding material appreciably harder thanthe article and having a surface formed as a surface of revolution aboutthe roller axis for engaging the edge of the article being rolled.

8. Apparatus for forming a rolled edge on a thin flexible generallytubular article, comprising a generally tubular article form supportedat one end by the apparatus, a spindle having its axis parallel to butlaterally displaced from the axis of said form, a roller rotatablysupported by said spindle and projecting therefrom across the form axistangent to the form, a spindle support spaced from the free end of saidform with said spindle being rotatably mounted in the support, means forcircularly translating all points of said spindle support and spindle incircular paths the radii of which equal the displacement of axes of saidspindle and form, means for resiliently maintaining said roller intangential contact with said form and with the edge of the article beingrolled during translation of said spindle around the form axis, andmeans for rotating said roller while the roller engages the form andarticle during the circular translation of said spindle about the form.

9. Apparatus for forming a rolled edge on a thin flexible generallytubular article, comprising a plurality of article forms supported bythe apparatus, a plurality of spindles having axes parallel to butlaterally displaced from the axes of said forms, a roller rotatablysupported by each spindle and projecting therefrom across the axes of anadjacent form and tangent to the form, a spindle support table spacedfrom the free end of said forms with said spindles being rotatablymounted in the table, means for circularly translating all points ofsaid table and spindles in circular paths the radii of which equal thedisplacement of the axes of said spindle and adjacent form, means forresiliently maintaining each roller in tangential contact with its formand with the edge of the article being rolled during translation of saidspindle around the form axis, and means for rotating said rollers whilethe rollers engage the forms and articles during the circulartranslation of said spindle about the form, and means for producingrelative axial motion between said table and form in a directionperpendicular to the plane of circular translation of said table.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,192,383 Brubaker July 25, 1916 2,067,641 Millen Jan. 12, 19372,220,938 Maywald Nov. 12, 1940 2,233,543 Maywald Mar. 4, 1941 2,297,663Strassman Sept. 29, 1942

1. IN A RING-ROLLING APPARATUS FOR AN ARTICLE OF THIN UNVULCANIZEDRUBBER-LIKE MATERIAL DISPOSED ABOUT THE FORM, A ROLLER HAVING APERIPHERAL PORTION FORMED OF WOOD, THE ROLLER HAVING A LONGITUDINAL AXISOF ROTATION AND A PERIPHERAL SURFACE CONTOUR IN THE SHAPE OF A SURFACEOF REVOLUTION AND BEING DISPOSED WITH ITS AXIS TRANVERSELY DISPOSED TOTHE AXIS OF THE FORM AND SAID SURFACE IN CONTACT WITH THE FORM AND WITHTHE EDGE OF THE ARTICLE TO BE ROLLED.